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1966
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Kime, Echo Mae, "Criteria, Anthology, and Explication of Poetry for First Grade" (1966). All Master's
Theses. 560.
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CRITERIA, ANTHOLOGY, AND EXPLICATION
A Thesis
Presented to
In Partial Fulfillment
Master of Education
by
August, 1966
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APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE FACULTY
________________________________
John E. Davis, COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
_________________________________
Edith Kiser
_________________________________
E. E. Samuelson
ARS POETICA
Archibald MacLeish
Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb
For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea--
CHAPTER PAGE
I • WHY POETRY? 1
Introduction 1
Formulating Criteria • • . 32
Criterion I 39
Criterion II . 41
Criterion III 42
Criterion IV • • 42
Demonstration of Application 43
Definitions 45
Rhythm • • • 45
v
CHAPTER PAGE
Meter 46
Rhyme 47
Masculine rhyme 47
Feminine rhyme . 47
Triple rhyme . 48
Slant rhyme 48
Bracket rhyme 49
Consonance • 50
Alliteration • 51
Assonance 52
Assonance of similarity 52
Assonance of contrast 55
Assonance of pattern 55
Cacophony 56
Euphony 57
Repetition • 58
Imagery 60
Figurative Language 64
Simile • 64
Metaphor • 64
vi
CHAPTER PAGE
Personification 65
Symbol • 66
Theme 67
Tone 68
Denotation . 69
Connotation 69
Stanza 70
Heroic Couplet • 70
11
Very Lovely" by Rose Fyleman 76
Rossetti 82
Christina Rossetti 83
vii
CHAPTER PAGE
"Down! Down! 11
by Eleanor Farjeon 87
Heinrich Heine • . • 90
Time . • 97
CHAPTER PAGE
Hobbs 114
CHAPTER PAGE
Rossetti • • 147
Mitchell 151
CHAPTER PAGE
People • • • 159
LeGalliene . 177
xi
CHAPTER PAGE
CHAPTER PAGE
BIBLIOGRAPHY • • . • • • • • . • • . • • • 211
CHAPTER I
WHY POETRY?
I. INTRODUCTION
to the gods and famous men" (58:8). It was his opinion that
( 58: 3) .
dangerous.
know" (60:13).
had "for its immediate object pleasure, not truth" and felt
poetry, was "a more than usual state of emotion with more
children:
written for boys and girls about poetry, has made this dis-
each makes:
poetry. The New York curriculum guide for poetry makes that
felt that this oral group work with poetry appeared to help
them:
poem as a poem.
Archibald MacLeish has said, "A poem should not mean/But be."
from doggerel.
for use with first grade, and (3) to explicate each of the
15
study:
sion does not necessarily imply that a poem was judged "not
CRITICAL CRITERIA
or "real, 11
poetry. Some emphasize the source, the inspira-
time. But even so, the response was still an important part
of poetry.
Critic ism."
I
20
Since the time of Coleridge many have written much about the
poetry.
tance with the other elements. "No man was ever yet a
philosopher" (11:14-19).
21
persons:
world.
of poetry:
22
communication of experience.
up the world."
of defining "poetry:"
substitute:
poetic quality.
definition:
I
28
enlargened consciousness.
the points she makes are equally valid when the experience
with the poem is the end, rather than the means to an end.
(75:22).
thought the list would give the teacher some basis on which
are:
3. Repetition.
4. Stimulation to imagination.
5. Dramatic appeal.
9. Emotional appeal.
meaning (40:112-115)?
tions as they were stated in the problem. What then are the
ceeds to learn about 5,000 words per year through each year
33
encountered.
intellectually (29:36-40).
34
to poetry. Words and sounds, new ones and old ones, they
the first grade child. Again, this seems less obvious when
modern day child has had with television and movies. The
Chanson Innocente
in Just
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman
balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee (42: 324)
37
may not notice, much less question that the boys are running
and the girls are dancing away from these activities. The
And who shall say that one is more "correct" than the
might have been a response to the music and mood of the poem
enlightened by that same poem and that the poem itself gains
say at all, and then suddenly will shine out in its full
meaning" (21:169).
Criterion I
Underneath my belt
My stomach was a stone.
Sinking was the way I felt
And hollow.
And Alone. (6:117)
need to be examined.
Criterion II
rhyme.
(23:762).
Criterion III
Criterion IV
should speak to, not at, the listener. Too many poems
TREES
Harry Behn
pleasure to children.
Pope warned against, but also the same heroic couplet form
enumerated by the poet, his poem does not bring me any new
not believe him when he says "Trees are the kindest things I
I. DEFINITIONS
Rhythm
I
46
Meter
8:562).
whole of it.
Rhyme
(2) "it sets off the lines," and (3) "it helps to bind the
author:
Susie's galoshes
Make splishes and sploshes
And slooshes and sloshes,
As Susie steps slowly
Along in the slush. (2:157)
letter "s":
vowel 11
0
11
•
but the stressed vowels themselves are not the same: mile,
Susie's galoshes
Make splishes and sploshes
"sploshes."
vowels.
Consonance
Both the letters "l" and "d" are repeated enough times to be
identified as consonance.
Alliteration
the words.
Assonance
I think mice
Are rather nice.
of the scale, as in
Modern English:
Front Center
beet boot
High bit foot
frequency of vibration.
54
saying.
Except for "would", all vowels sounds are made well forward
in the mouth.
55
the "'long o" sound in "so, " "lonely," "blow," and "snow"
Shakespeare's
Cacophony
Euphony
poem. The nasals (m, n, and ng), the glides (r, y, and w),
"Murmur" and "murder" may sound a great deal alike, but the
Repetition
lines.
59
The various forms of the word "pipe" share the emphasis and
"Presents":
I wanted a whistle
And I wanted a kite,
I wanted a pocketknife
That shut up tight.
I wanted some boots
And I wanted a kit,
But I didn't want mittens one little bit!
Even though the first and last lines are the same, our
is "sad for him." The two lines say the same thing, but
Imagery
Anyone who has ever seen the first snow fall of the year
Susie's galoshes
Make splishes and sploshes
And slooshes and sloshes,
As Susie steps slowly
Along in the slush.
One can almost hear the child walking in the slush, in the
mud, on the hard ice and concrete, and in the slush once
again.
to us.
illustration:
63
is found in 11
A Pine Tree Stands So Lonely" by Heine. The
The poem communicates both the cold felt by the pine tree
Swing, swing,
Sing, sing,
Here! my throne and I am a king!
Swing, sing,
Swing, sing,
Farewell, earth, for I'm on the wing!
64
Low, high,
Here I fly,
Like a bird through sunny sky;
Free, free,
Over the lea,
Over the mountain, over the sea!
go.
Figurative Language
bucket:
On stormy days,
When the wind is high
Tall trees are brooms
Sweeping the sky.
natural phenomena.
66
meaning" (8:556).
symbolism:
tionship:
cake.
Theme
message received through the poem. "The theme does not give
the poem its force; the poem gives the theme its force"
theme.
69
Denotation
Connotation
Stanza
tion enough.
Heroic Couplet
of the terms used in this study, as they are used. These are
71
grade pupil.
BROOMS
Dorothy Aldis
On stormy days
When the wind is high
Tall trees are brooms
Sweeping the sky.
RAIN
in this poem. The fact that the same rain that falls on an
things that happen that are beyond control. The rain, after
Emily Dickinson
VERY LOVELY
Rose Fyleman
RAIN SIZES
John Ciardi
bodies.
Anonymous
A. A. Milne
mains a mystery.
Christina Rossetti
see things in order to know that they are there. The con-
Christina Rossetti
"w, •• "m," "n," "ng, ,.. and "r" suggest the apparent ease and
lack of effort with which the wind moves. The result is very
THE WIND
WIND SONG
Carl Sandburg
"n," and "r" as in the first line: "Long ago I learned how
would seem that the children would experience this same kind
DOWN! DOWN!
Eleanor Farjeon
Down, down!
Yellow and brown
The leaves are falling over the town.
(2:174)
leaves are falling "over the town" rather than on the ground
by leaves.
SUMMERS END
Lillian Moore
"way."
FIRST SNOW
short poem is visual imagery and has the simile "bushes look
Heinrich Heine
are now.
91
WINTER
William Shakespeare
this poem, some of which the children may not understand be-
ing.
93
acceptance.
noticed the spot he was on/He looked for himself and saw he
CHANSON INNOCENTE
E. E. Currunings
in Just
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman
the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
it's
spring
and
the
goat-footed
balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee (42:324)
96
adds to meaning.
found in "far and wee" in which the vowel moves from low
SMALL SONG
Frances Frost
MORNING
Emily Dickinson
euphony.
poet.
Eleanor Farjeon
BEDTIME
Eleanor Farjeon
ently is engaged.
Rowena Bennett
the smoothness and ease with which the poem is read. The
poem.
really does mean to eat her out of house ahd home. We share
formation to a bat.
THE EGG-SHELL
Rudyard Kipling
This poem does not really make sense, but the rhythm
does.
line describes the fog, the third line tells some action of
Blue Devil."
each stanza.
108
Just Imagine
WISHES
Rose Fyleman
IF
Anonymous
"What if • • • ?"
Repetition of 11
all" in "all the world, 11
"all the sea,"
THE TOASTER
control.
112
Karla Kushkin
those words and to ready the reader for the lovely line "a
dragon will shine in the sun" emphasizes the ease and con-
11
The imaginative adjective dragonly 11 to describe
11
smilett is particularly effective. It suggests the usual
Valine Hobbs
are evident in this poem. The "I" of the poem sees the
Unknown
11 11
The internal rhyme of why" with fly, 11 11
absurd 11
with "bird, 11
"that" with "cat," and "how" with "cow" adds to the music and
can do, even when we approach them gradually. The "poor old
LIMERICKS
Edward Lear
of four, making two shorter rhyming lines out of the one long
line that now has internal rhyme. The first two and the last
lines rhyme.
ing the pronouns "I" and "it" at the beginning of many lines.
learned that a girl and her mother took that exciting ride.
moving down this bridge that goes to sea right over the
horizon.
121
TRAVEL
11
still'' in the sense of being quiet and "still" in the sense
TRAINS
James S. Tippett
Carrying passengers,
Carrying mail
Bringing their precious loads
In without fail
Rowena Bennett
appetite.
124
A MODERN DRAGON
Rowena Bennett
spark."
anyway.
NOTICE
David McCord
I have a dog,
I had a cat.
I 1 ve got a frog
Inside my hat. (6:72)
the action.
as it is to their teacher.
127
JUMP OR JINGLE
Evelyn Beyer
Frogs jump
Caterpillars hump
Worms wiggle
Bugs jiggle
Rabbits hop
Horses clop
Snakes slide
Seagulls glide
Mice creep
Deer leap
Puppies bounce
Kittens pounce
Lions stalk--
But--
I walk! (6:85-86)
are special.
128
THE ANSWERS
Robert Clairmont
what can they say but what they .£§B. say. There are natural
poem: "I asked a lamb, a goat, a cow" and "A quack, a honk,
A BIG TURTLE
Unknown
Vachel Lindsay
He snapped at a mosquito.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a minnow.
And he snapped at me.
the four uses of the "he snapped" and the three of "he
CHANTICLEER
John Farrar
all to know the what, the how, and the why of things. How
know about the new day that would cause him to issue a
new day, but in us. The danger is that we may sleep through
MRS. PECK-PIGEON
Eleanor Farjeon
Mrs. Peck-Pigeon
Is picking for bread,
Bob--bob--bob
Goes her little round head.
Tame as a pussy cat
In the street,
Step--step--step
Go her little red feet.
With her little red feet
And her little round head,
Mrs. Peck-Pigeon
Goes picking for bread. (6:62-63)
A BIRD
Emily Dickinson
ient g_rass, 11
"hoE.E_ed, 11
and "let a beetle 2_ass" slow down the
THE EAGLE
CATS
Marchette Chute
Gelett Burgess
we have never seen but have been told exist: the starving
and deep in our hearts we are glad we are not there and part
of it.
FLIES
Dorothy Aldis
rhyming pair "fly" and "sky" has already been noted in the
content with ceilings, but she would try for the sky.
141
home and a recognition that one does not have the special
here I stay."
142
THE ELEPHANT
A. E. Houseman
"behind."
pattern.
143
AN INCONVENIENCE
children.
FUZZY WUZZY
11
fuzzy wuzzy, 11
"winging, flinging, • • . springing," and
ONLY MY OPINION
Monica Shannon
Is a caterpillar ticklish?
Well, it's always my belief
That he giggles, as he wiggles
Across a hairy leaf. (31:457)
I HELD A LAMB
Kim Worthington
Christina G. Rossetti
THE OCTOPUS
Ogden Nash
to, and contributions to, the humor of this poem. The idea
MICE
Rose Fyleman
I think mice
Are rather nice.
in the first two and last two lines has been discussed in
short last line "Are nice." The mice then, are liked not be-
cause of how they look or what they do; they are simply
"wee little," and "green little." (The last two are repe-
HOLDING HANDS
Lenore M. Link
Elephants walking
Along the trails
Elephants work
And elephants play
Rudyard Kipling
nance with the line that follows it: "As bad as bad can
sound of "heels, 11
"seals, 11
"be, 11
and "sea." Both the
PUPPY
Aileen Fisher
My puppy likes
a hard old bone
as if it were
an ice-cream cone. (6:36)
"ice-cream cone."
as a poem.
child.
155
SUNNING
James S. Tippett
"lay" all tell of some small action of the dog. The visual
length.
156
SNAKE
Emily Dickinson
of the poem.
graders late in the school year after they have had many
listening skills.
159
People
PRESENTS
Marchette Chute
I wanted a whistle
And I wanted a kite,
I wanted a pocketknife
That shut up tight.
I wanted some boots
And I wanted a kit,
But I didn't want mittens one little bit~
study.
MUD
in the mud?
GALOSHES
Rhoda W. Bacmeister
Susie's galoshes
Make splishes and splashes
And slooshes and sloshes,
As Susie steps slowly
Along in the slush.
"concrete" and "stuck, " and the "d" in "mud") slows down
the reader and has a less soothing sound to the mind's ear
first stanza the word "step" with the forced pauses caused
by the "t" and the "p" help us to know just how carefully
TIRED TIM
Walter de la Mare
even though the words say the same thing, they do not mean
Tim.
165
PEOPLE
Lois Lenski
HAPPINESS
A. A. Milne
John had
Great Big
waterproof
Boots on;
John had a
Great Big
waterproof
Hat;
John had a
Great Big
waterproof
Mackintosh--
And that
(Said John)
Is
That. (2:105)
THE END
A. A. Milne
we cannot stay what we are "for ever and ever." This comment
MISS T.
Walter De La Mare
care with which she eats. "Porridge and apples" and "jam,
some call it, and suggest that the theme of this poem is
ful. 11
) Such stretching is likely to take the fun out of
CHOOSING SHOES
ffRida Wolfe
But
the second line: "Red and pink and blue shoes." Allitera-
THE COBBLER
Crooked heels
And scuf fy toes
Are all the kinds
Of shoes he knows.
He patches up
The broken places
Sews the seams
And shines their faces. ( 2: 13)
the seams." There are high or mid back vowels combined with
gets the shoes they are "crooked" and "scuffy" and he has to
GREGORY GRIGGS
Laura E. Richards
either boy or man, should have and wear that large number of
everywhere.
proper Bostonians.
174
might also have been shared. This poem may help them better
WHERE'S MARY?
Ivy O. Eastwick
undone by Mary.
Richard LeGalliene
calling."
A SWING SONG
William Allingham
swing, swing,
Sing, sing,
Here! my throne and I am a king!
Swing, sing,
Swing, sing,
Farewell, earth, for I'm on the wing!
Low, high,
Here I fly,
Like a bird through sunny sky;
Free, free,
Over the lea,
Over the mountain, over the sea!
Up, down,
Up and down,
Which is the way to London Town?
Where? Where?
Up in the air,
Close your eyes and now you are there!
Soon, soon,
Afternoon,
Over the sunset, over the moon;
Far, far,
Over the bar,
Sweeping on from star to star!
No, no,
Low, low,
Sweeping daisies with my toe.
Slow, slow,
To and fro,
Slow--slow--slow--slow. (31:35-36)
179
made well forward in the mouth, but the vowels shift back-
have vowel sounds made at the back of the mouth. The con-
sonants, as "p, 11 11
d, 11
and "t" in the line "sweeping daisies
down.
MERRY-GO-ROUND
Dorothy Baruch
and the "g" of "big") and the line length help to cause a
of "r" and "n" and the vowel diphthong in the word "around"
stop.
A PARADE
A parade! A parade~
A-rum-a-tee-turn
I know a parade
By the sound of the drum.
A-rum-a-tee-turn
A-rum-a-tee-turn
A-rurn-a-tee-turn-a-tee-turn-
a-tee-turn.
Here it comes
Down the street.
I know a parade
By the sound of the feet.
as kinesthetic imagery.
HIDING
Dorothy Aldis
but now they share the parent's point of view of the hiding
game.
Robert Frost
We dance round in a
ring and suppose,
secret.
SNIFF
Frances M. Frost
smells are sweet, and the other kinds are smell-worthy, too.
187
Zhenya Gay
them all.
smells."
188
Dorothy Aldis
Underneath my belt
My stomach was a stone.
Sinking was the way I felt.
And hollow.
And Alone. (6:117)
COLOR
Christina Rossetti
admitting it.
190
Prior to the last four lines the rhyme had been total
emphasis.
TO MAKE A PRAIRIE
Emily Dickinson
A WORD IS DEAD
Emily Dickinson
A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day. (57:71)
begins 1 ' and "that day 11 all contribute to the poetic effect
I'M NOBODY
Emily Dickinson
place.
194
DUST OF SNOW
Robert Frost
"day • rued."
THE RAINBOW
Christina Rossetti
nheaven" is alone.
stand them.
197
AFTERNOON ON A HILL
("mark mine"} •
Robert Frost
years.
200
SOME ONE
Walter de la Mare
Vachel Lindsay
THE MOON
Elizabeth Coatsworth
REEDS OF INNOCENCE
William Blake
the "Lamb" in the song and the "child" in the cloud be tre
same thing?
job to hear." If the lamb and the child are the same, and
both are Jesus Christ, what could cause both happiness and
to me.
207
child.
CHAPTER IV
that will heighten awareness, and (4) that the poem should
cending tone.
heart."
75. Walter, Nina Willis. Let Them Write Poetry. New York:
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1962.